Ignoring cause and effect

There is a series of passages in Atlas Shrugged that I always thought I understood, but only recently have I been able to take their meaning and apply it to something in real life. The passages are those that describe Dagny's first ball, as well as the party at the Reardens' house. Dagny was surprised to discover that no one at the ball was really enjoying themselves. She noted that everyone seemed to expect the lights, decorations, dresses, etc. at the ball to give some sort of special meaning to the occasion that otherwise was not there. It was as if the people were not happy, but somehow expected the setting to make them so. She realized that only those people who have done anything truly worth celebrating can really enjoy a celebration. The people at the ball were not there to celebrate their lives and their love of it, but rather to somehow absorb some form of enjoyment through going through the motions of celebrating. As if their doing that which happy men of self esteem do would give them self esteem. Ayn Rand has identified this as one instance of a larger more common error that people make: ignoring the law of cause and effect. In this case happiness and the ability to celebrate are the effect, self esteem is the cause. The people at Dagny's ball were attempting to gain the effect without the necessary cause. It of course doesn't work and that is why she notices that they are so unhappy.

I have recently made a connection between the principle discussed above and every day life. I think it is worth exploring; not only to further concretize the principle for myself, but also because I think it is just interesting. The effect that people want to fake is sexual enjoyment. By this I don't mean only the physical feelings involved. Anyone can experience those. Sadly however, for many people that is as far as enjoying sex goes, just physical sensations. But there is so much more that can be emotionally enjoyed about sex. But the enjoyment is an effect, not a cause. Without the cause one cannot have the effect. People who desire to have the effect but don't want to be bothered with the causes think that going through the motions will somehow provide for them what they seek. It is just like the people at Dagny's ball who expected the party to provide them with worth, not their worth making the party truly enjoyable.

So if sexual enjoyment is the effect what is the cause? This, I think has many aspects that contribute to it but to name the one I feel is dominant: the cause is an inviolate metaphysical love of life. By this I mean that one has to love one's own life. Of course everyone does love their life to some extent, but they have also accepted so many other contradictory premises that this love is suppressed and not allowed to manifest itself. For example the dominant ethics of altruism teaches people that it is wrong to love ones self above others. People are taught that self love is selfish (which it is, but not in the bad way that altruists imply) and that loving everyone else indiscriminately is the only moral course. Acceptance of this doctrine effectively cuts oneself off from ones sense of loving life, letting it surface only occasionally, and then only to produce guilt in oneself for being 'selfish.' Is it any wonder that people who are cut off from their love of life cannot enjoy the one act that is the physical manifestation of that love? Sex is the physical act that lets one express and live that deep sense of loving life. Without that sense it it just an empty shell, a set of sensations, an animal pleasure.

To give a more narrow example of what I mean: Why do people buy lingerie? There may be many reasons, but a dominant one is just because they think they are supposed to. Girls know that when they get married they are supposed to get some lingerie. But why? Well... because their husband will like it. Why will he like it, and why is that important? BLANK OUT. Most new brides would have no answer to those last questions. People know that they are supposed to somehow enjoy sex, and they think that somehow lingerie will help them in this. Why, well it works for other people doesn't it? The lingerie is like the lights and decorations at the ball, they can serve to make the occasion very nice for those who can celebrate, but for those who have nothing to celebrate they can do nothing. But just as those unhappy people have balls in the hopes that the lights and decorations will make them happy, some couples think that lingerie will help them to be sexy and enjoy sex. How? Somehow.

In truth lingerie does serve a purpose and can greatly enhance sexual enjoyment, but only if the cause, love of life, is there. Without that it is just a waste. The law of cause and effect cannot be ignored.

You can even see this principle manifest physically in the manner in which the lingerie is used. Usually those people who lack the cause of sexual enjoyment will just put the lingerie on and wait to see what happens. A scenario may go like this:
"Wanna have sex?"
"Yeah sure."
"Want me to put lingerie on?"
"O.k."
"Which one?"
"Oh I don't know, which ever."
She goes and puts it on an comes back to bed. She gets under the covers and lays there. He finally musters the interest to go through the motions, and the rest is history. Eventually even this less than thrilling scene begins to happen less and less until the lingerie only comes out on 'special' occasions. And maybe not even then. Why? Well even the most self deluded people can't help but notice that the lingerie is a waste of time, with neither party really enjoying it that much. They eventually drop the pretense, wondering what the big deal was all about. The sad part is that it didn't have to be that way.